Another CH-47 gets shot down; AFSOC still trying to gobble them up.

Another CH-47 gets shot down today in Afghanistan. The slow, unmaneuverable aircraft is a huge aircraft with a basically a target painted on the side begging insurgents to shoot. USAF's AFSOC is trying to replace the "old" HH-60Gs (which happens to be one of the youngest aircraft in USAF inventory) with the Chinook and I feel there could not be a worse choice. C'mon fellers, these things are dropping like flies. How many lives are we willing to loose over an obviously bad decision. These things are great for one thing and one thing only, heavy lift. They suck at infiltration/exfiltration, and CSAR. Think about the down wash!!








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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan —

Five U.S. soldiers were among seven people killed when a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down Wednesday evening in Afghanistan's most volatile province, a U.S. military official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Initial reports suggested the helicopter was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade, the U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity because the crash was being investigated.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said seven ISAF soldiers were killed after the CH-47 Chinook went down in Helmand province near Kajaki, the site of a major hydroelectric damn and scene of fierce battles in recent months.

The crew of five and two military passengers died, NATO said. It did not release nationalities, but a U.S. official said the two passengers were not American. There were no survivors.

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MQ-8B Fire Scout; Killer copter

© Northrop Grumman
Too bad Northrop/Grumman already dubbed another UAV the Killer Bee because that is what I think of when I look at this (not so) little guy.

© Northrop Grumman

The RQ-8A started life back in 2002 on its first flight during the LRIP (Low-Rate Initial Production) phase. The Navy was impressed but canceled the aircraft not long after but, continues to fund the program. Northrop/Grumman knew they had something special so they moved there test facilities from China Lake to Webster Field, near Patuxent River so more people could see it fly - particularly as it was then in the navy's back yard for UAV.



The RQ-8A is based on the Schweizer 333 light turbine helicopter (which is based on the non-turbine Hughes 300C). The RQ-8A showed a lot of promise but it was lacking in some key areas. The RQ-8s endurance was the major area of lacking. During this time, Northrop/Grumman offered the Navy an updated model dubbed the Sea Scout. The Sea Scout now with its four bladed rotors and more fuel could carry a 500lb load for 5 hours. By July of 2003 funding was continued. The RQ-8A was still being used to test systems and had made several landings aboard the USS Nashville.

© Northrop Grumman
These landings were done completely without input from the pilots. The Navy will use the MQ-8Bs in conjunction with their new LCS (Littoral Combat Ships) for recon and protection.

Seeing the benefits from the Navy’s program, the U.S. Army decided to see about using the MQ-8B for its FCS UAV (Future Combat Systems UAV) system requirement. In total, the MQ-8Bs between the Navy and the Army will come out to about 192 total aircraft. I am sort of excited about these. They will be able to carry the APKWS II rockets as well as the same Viper Strike system currently being tested on the USAF AFSOC AC-130H and AC-130Us. © Northrop Grumman


The U.S. Army’s system conducted its first engine run test on 22 May 2007. "The engine run is a significant milestone for the FCS program. It marks completion of final assembly of the initial manufacturing phase of the first Army Fire Scout," said Joe Emerson, Northrop Grumman's FCS Fire Scout program manager. "We've been diligent in tracking our costs and meeting milestones such as this, which validates our commitment to quality, technical excellence, cost and delivery. We're definitely looking forward to fielding this aircraft."



© Northrop Grumman
We will be seeing more from these two little devils, I am sure.


For more info and pictures...
Northrop Grumman
Navy UAV News

Here is a good write-up by Defense Industry Daily

A Historic Name for a New Plane; Combat Spear!

AFSOC has sort of been in a bind. How do you replace aircraft lost in combat with something new? The answer is the MC-130W. The first one was a used aircraft from the AFRC at Maxwell AFB C-130H 87-9286.



AFSOC plans to acquire 12 of these aircraft to replace MC-130E/H Talon I and Talon IIs as well as MC-130Ps (HC-130N/Ps) that have been lost in combat. This is a smart move on their part. It’s a way to get something newer without having to jump into the failing C-130J. The first MC-130W was delivered to the USAF and landed at Hurlburt Field in July of 2006.



The Aircraft was quickly dubbed “Whiskey” because of the “W” designation but that did not last long… Don't call the plane "Whiskey" anymore. They are now going to be referred to as Combat Spear. (The crews will still call them Whiskey... or Combat Wombat) Combat Spear was the name given to MC-130E Talon Is while flying over Viet-Nam. The Combat Spear program often required the special operations aircraft to fly at night over North Vietnam on classified missions, according to an Air Force history of Vietnam operations. On some flights, the planes would air drop South Vietnamese agents behind enemy lines. While the MC-130Es in the US were referred to as Combat Knife and in Europe they were referred to as Combat Arrows.

The Aircraft will join the 73rd SOS. The 73rd is a new stand up squadron that opened her doors on October 20th 2006. Her sister squadrons at Duke, Hurlburt, and Eglin are the 8th SOS which flies the MC-130E Talon I, 15th SOS flies the Newer MC-130H Talon II, and the 9th SOS flies the MC-130P.

What can the MC-130W do? She will handle the infiltration and exfiltration of Special Forces and air refueling of special operations helicopters. What can they not do? They do not have the Terrain following/terrain avoidance radar like both variants of Talon MC-130s have. But this will ease the pressure off of them and help the Combat Shadows (MC-130Ps) in the refueling portion of the mission.



So why add a “new” aircraft without the TF/TA radar sets? COST! The MC-130E Talon Is (1960s vintage aircraft) go for a reported $75 Million a piece and the same goes for the Shadow (I have a hard time believing that) and the MC-130H Talon II is a reported $155 Million bucks a piece. The cost of the new MC-130W just a tad under $60 Million… so, for what it does and what it will do, I think that you can leave the TF/TA to the Talons and let this guy clean up the mess on Isle 5.

Big Boy AC-130U gets new guns...and more.

The AC-130U Spooky is replacing both the 25MM Gatling gun and the old and true 40MM Bofors canon with the 30MM Bushmaster. This is great news for the crews and very bad news for the evildoers. The 30MM has had great success with the Marines and is a great replacement for the USAF's older lead throwers. The 25MM in my opinion never lived up to its big brother's (the A-10's 30MM Gatling) reputation and the crews were having tons of problems with it (I recall a couple of times the gun had shot up #1 engine...never a good thing)

The 30MM will add accuracy and also a more maintenance friendly weapon.

The USAF and AFSOC plans to add the 30MM to the AC-130Hs as well with both aircraft being fully updated by 2010.

The AC-130U will also be adding the GBU-44 glide bomb on the outer hard points where the IRCM pods once were placed.







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